Page 49 of Curvy Fake Wife for the Player

Henrietta frowned at me. “You’re determined to be obtuse about this, aren’t you?”

“No, not determined. I’m just protecting myself.” Alex hadn’t given any indication that his feelings have changed so I won’t assume they have.

Sympathy flashed in her dark eyes and she nodded as if she understood. “All right, if you insist. That cake smells incredible.”

I laughed, grateful for her change of topic. “Let’s not wait another moment to dig in, then.”

Alex found us enjoying large slices of cake and coffee when he returned from practice with damp hair that hung adorably over his eyes. “Cake?”

“Yes,” I smiled at him. “Thank you for another cake,” I laughed. “But I’m not sure if my clothes will thank you.”

Heat flared in his green gaze and they raked over my body as heavy as a caress. “You look good to me,” he growled. “And we can always buy new clothes.”

“That won’t be necessary,” I said with a smile as I cut another slice and plated it up, sitting it beside me. “Because there’s enough to go around.” And because I ate half of the last cake on my own.

Amusement flashed in his eyes as he took the seat beside me. “Thank you.” He leaned forward and smacked a kiss against my cheek.

I inhaled his fresh, masculine scent deeply. He smelled clean and manly, and familiar. The truth was, Alex smelled like home and when he gave out such easy affection it was enough to fool my heart into believing that it was all real. “You’re welcome,” I answered in a breathy voice.

“Well, I got laundry to do,” Henrietta said with a glint in her eyes. “I’ll let you lovebirds enjoy your cake in peace.” She shuffled off and every part of me wanted to call her back, to tell her we weren’t love birds and didn’t need any time alone, but she was fast.

“There’s something I want to talk to you about.” Alex’s deep voice broke through and slowly I turned to face him. My heart raced at the serious expression on his face.

“Um okay. What’s up?” I hoped that sounded as easygoing as I wanted it to because inside my heart raged and anxiety caused my stomach to do an Olympic level gymnastics floor routine.

“We’re getting married soon.”

I nodded. “We are. Aren’t we?”

His full lips tugged into a smile. “That is still the plan, yes.”

I tried to read his body language or the expression on his face to figure out where he was going with all of this, but he gave away nothing. I’ll bet he was an excellent poker player. “We’re getting married soon, and?”

“And,” he sighed, tugging a lock of my hair before he curled it around his finger. “I think we should talk about our, ah, expectations.”

I froze. He seemed so nervous. Too nervous when the contract was signed as this was already a done deal. “I don’t expect you to buy me clothes and cars or anything like that.” Did he think I would take advantage of his money while we were married? My heart squeezed in pain at the thought that he really didn’t know me at all.

His blond brows knitted into an angry vee. “You should expect it since we’ll be married and I can afford it. Besides there will be charity events and awards ceremonies that you will be expected to attend with me.” He shook his head. “But that’s not what I was getting at.”

“Okay.” I drew the word out to at least three syllables as my heart rate increased. “What are you getting at?”

“I like you Sasha.”

I smiled, determined to ignore the blush that rose up my body at his words or the way my heart pounded like a drum against my chest. “I like you too, Alex.”

“Good, because I think we should consider-.” Whatever else he’d been about to say was cut off by the sound of his phone ringing in his pocket. “Dammit.”

Disappointed, I pulled back and flashed a smile I didn’t feel. “You should probably get that.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “It’s Jack.”

I didn’t know whether to be grateful to Jack or wish horrible things on him, but in the end I just shrugged off the seriousness of the moment and finished my cake before I went back to Dixie.

She was the real reason—the only reason—I was here anyway.

Still my thoughts returned to Alex and to what he’d been about to say. Was he going to say he wanted the marriage to be real? That we should stop sleeping together after the marriage just in case I get the wrong idea? I didn’t know, couldn’t know and Alex’s phone call had lasted more than an hour.

We never did get to finish or even really start that conversation, which I guessed was an answer of sorts all on its own.

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